August 30, 2014 - Today's News In Gazetikenya

Inside Raila and Ruto love-hate relationship

POLITICS | One moment they are on the same side, the next they are fierce rivals. As temperatures rise over push for referendum, what next for them?

They are some of the finest political operatives today. They know how to work up the masses and they are resilient and can never be kept down for long. But Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga also share a striking paradox. They are the most powerful men in their communities, yet they are also held hostage by their own people’s fears and aspirations. Both have been close to power, yet they have never quite reached there. Today, these former allies are the fiercest political rivals.

Why can’t Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga ever agree on anything? This is the question some political observers have been grappling with this week, as the simmering contest between the two went a notch higher after President Uhuru Kenyatta made a conciliatory gesture towards Mr Odinga, his toughest challenger in last years general elections. The analysts were unanimous that Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga were divided by the same qualities they have in common. Former Cabinet minister Amukowa Anangwe simplified the discordance between two of Kenya’s most aggressive campaigners as “a clash of two politicians with inflated political egos”. The political scientist, who teaches at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, said: “Each of them strongly holds onto his opinion. It is like having two bulls in one boma; they can never cope.”

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